Tube shipping cradle



Jan. 10, 1950 E. R. GOLDFIELD ET AL TUBE SHIPPING CRADLE Filed June 8,1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVf/VTORS [ow/1v R. GOLDf/ELD RALPH 6'. JCHlR/NGATTORNEYS 1950 Q E. R. GOLDFIELD ETAL 2,494,170

TUBE SHIPPING CRADLE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 8, 1946 m0 wmw m NFM MW 5 Nam m WM n M @R Patented Jan. 10, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICETUBE SHIPPING CRADL'E Edwin R. Goldfield and Ralph C. Schir ing,University Heights, Ohio, assignors to Picker X-Ray Corporation WaiteManufacturing Division, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, a "corporation of OhioApplication June 8, 1946, Serial No. 675,486

SClaims. (01. 217-55) The invention relates to a novel and improvedShipping container, and more specifically to "a shock-proof containerfor the protection of fragile and expensive X-ray generating tubesduring their transportation or shipment.

An object of the invention is to provide novel and improved meanswhereby a tube maybe resiliently mounted in a shipping container,entirely out of contact with any rigid portion of the containerinterior. I

A further object is to provide cradle means for the reception of suchtube, said cradle being re- 'siliently mounted within the container, andsaid tube being further resiliently seated but securely held within saidcradle. ,1

A further object of the invention is to provide novel and improvedshock-proof shipping means of the character described, such means beingadapted to maintain the tube in such position with respect to a verticalaxis as is required by the character of the tube, and its interiorconstruct'ion. Other objects and advantages 'willbe apparent from astudy of the following specification, in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a'shippi'ng container embodyingthe presentsinve'ntion, the cover of the container being open to revealin,- ternal construction;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1';

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the cradle mechanism for holdingthe tube;

Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are sectional views taken respectively on the lines4-4, 5--5, 66 and '!-7 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a View taken from the position of the lines 8-8 of Fig. 3, butshowing the clamping lever in released position; 7

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view of the container, as seen from theright of Fig. 1, parts being broken away;

Fig. 10 is a front elevational view of the cradle mechanism, generallysimilar to the showing of the corresponding part in Fig. 1, but withportions of the mechanism moved to a different operating position toaccommodate another type of tube;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view of a housing for holding a tube base, aresilient reversible socket being shown in one operating position in thehousing, the view being taken on the line ll-H ofFig. 3;

Fig, 12 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 11

but sh'OWI'ng the sockets reversed 1T0 accommo- 2 date a tube base ofmodified structural characteristics.

Before proceeding to a description of the present invention it should beunderstood that the said invention is not limited to the details hereshown for purposes of illustration, the scope of the invention beingdeterminable from the appended claims.

Speaking first generally, the present invention comprises a box-likecontainer 20 having a hinged or otherwise removable cover 2|. 'Withinthecontainer is resiliently suspended a tube receiving cradle 22, seen inoperating .position in Fig; "1, and removed from the container in Figs.3 and 10. The cradle is provided with upper and lower end caps 23 and'24 respectively which carry respective resilient nesting sockets 25 and26 between which the tube body 21 is gripped and retained, such tubebody being indicated in broken line in Figs. 1 and 10. A releasablelooking lever 28, best shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 8, maintains the end capsin tube gripping position so as to prevent accidental displacement ofthe tube during movement of the container.

As is well-known to those skilled in the art, a high voltage X-ray tubeis an object of consid er'able structural'intricacy. It is extremelysensitive to physical shock, and is especially susceptible to injuryparticularly when maintained in certain ositional orientations withrespect to its operating element's. Certain types of tubes, for example,should be maintained in vertical position with their anodes down. Thenovel cradle mechanism here disclosed is particularly suited for theprotection of'X-ray tubes and, as will appear, it is provided with meansreadily conformable to receive more than one. tube type.

Special structural features of the container and cradle will now bedescribed in greater detail.

The container 20 is of conventional box-like appearance externalcontour, having a rear wall 30, top and bottom walls 3] and'ilz respecti'vely, andleft and right side walls 33 and 34 respectively, as seen inFig. l. A hinged cover 2 I, previously identified, is here shown ascarried by side wall 33, although this arrangement is purely a matter ofconvenience.

The outer to wall 3| is provided with indicating obstruction means '36,serving to prevent the containerirom being inadvertently placedwith'wall 3'! downward. The obstruction means oompri'sesa pair ofU-shapedbrackets 38 formed from 'st'ripfmetal', one leg 39 of each Ubeing longer than the other leg 40. The part or the bracket "eiitendingbetween the legs isconseby substantially strengthening the container.

structure, and likewise providing skid portions upon which the containermay be slidably moved.

The means for supporting the tube carrying cradle within the container,will now be de scribed.

Adjacent the inner top andbottom ends of side walls 33 and 34 areinwardly projecting lugs adapted to receive the outer ends of springclusters, as will appear. 4 also to materially strengthen the walls, thesaid lugs are formed by welding lengths of channel sections 4! to theinner faces of walls 33 and 34, in such manner that the flanges of thechannel members extend horizontally inwardly In the case of each channelmember, its flange 41a nearest the adjacent end of the container issomewhat longer than flange Mb, this arrangement being especiallyadapted to the disposition of the suspension springs later to bedescribed. The cradle heretofore referred to by reference character 22is constructed as follows. It comprises a body member consisting of avertically extending back strip 43 of channel section, having rearwardlyextending flanges l4,.as best seen in Figs. 4 and 5. Fixed near butspaced inwardly from its top and bottom ends are transverse stripsextending in opposite directions from strip 43 andv providing pairs oftoparms 45, 45 and bottom arms 41, 48. Towards their outer ends saidarms 45, 48, 41 and 48 are inclined forwardly towards the open face of.the box, the inclined portions on each side being connected and bracedby vertically extending connecting strips 49 and 50 respectively.

The cradle thusformed is resiliently suspended at its four corners,represented bythe respectivetip ends of arms 45, 4B, 41 and 48 by meansor four spring cluster units whichare fixed both to' said tip ends andto adjacent points on the inturned flanges of channel members 4|. ,Sinceall four suspension points are similar in construction and arrangement,only one will be described, referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2.Each spring cluster consists of three helical springs. Two springs .53and 54 are hooked at their outer ends in spaced apertures 55 and 56These two I in flange Ma of the channel 4!. springs, for convenienceherein termed load springs, are mounted soas to converge to a commonsuspension point in an aperture 51 inarm 45. In Fig. 1, in each cluster,spring 53 is directly back of spring 54. The third spring 58, hereintermed an equalizing spring, extends al: most horizontally inwardly'iromanaperture 59 in flange 4") to an aperture 60 in arm 45. As a result ofthe peripheral spacing of the four spring clusters, and the specificorientation of each cluster, it will, be apparent that when the cradleissuspended as shown in Fig. 1, it is adapted to resist sudden shocks orrapid vibrations of any character, and from any direction, such as mightbe encountered in normal handling or shipping. The function of thesuspension is, of course, to cushion such shocksjand vibrations and toguard the cradle, andparticularly the tube held therein, from coming incontactwith 4 the container walls, or from receiving sudden shocks.

The tube is resiliently gripped in the cradle in the following manner.Referring first to Figs. 3 and 4 the bottom end of the cradle isprovided with an end cap 24 which is supported on a strap bracket 53fixed to the lower end of the back strip and attached thereto by weldingor otherwise, the end cap being welded between the opposed strap ends.is best seen in Figs. 4, 5, 11 and 12.

The end cap structure The latter two figures show two possible positionsof the cap For convenience, and

' assembly. The cap comprises an annular housing having an outer wall 64which is reversely bent to provide an inner wall 55 spaced from theouter wall, and terminating in the transverse shoulder 66. The cap 24further comprises an annular reversible resilient cushion receptacle 28of rubber or the like having a transverse annular Web 58 and a pair ofoppositely disposed cylindrical flanges 69 and it of unequal diameter.As shown in Fig. 12 flange 69 of the socket 25 is nested in the annularspace between walls .64 and. in Fig. 11 the receptacle has been removedand reversed so that flange 59 now-lies along the free inner face ofwall 64. The receptacle is united, by vulcanization or otherwise, to aretaining rin 13 of shoulder contour, the ring being aflixed to shoulder86 by the screw and nut 14. Reversal of the receptacle is readilyaccomplished simply by removing the screw and nut, turning the cushionwith its ring (3 end for end, and replacing the screw and nut. Thepurpose of this reversal will immediately appear.

An X-ray tube of the type adapted to be carried in the present containerand cradle is provided with a tubular body, having reduced endprojections at its opposite ends, and insulators transversely disposedto the tube body between said ends. The end projections of one standardline ofrtubes nest snugly into the cushion receptacles 25 and 26, andwithin flange 69, when the socket is disposed as shown in Fig. 11. Thesmaller end projections of another widely used type of tube nest snuglyin receptacles 25 and 26, and within flange Ill, when the receptacle isdisposed as shown in Fig. 12. 'lThe arrangement of the resilientreceptacle in the topcap 23 is identical with that shown and describedwith respect to the bottom cap24, the top receptacle being likewisereversible so thatit need not be further described herein. Fig. 1 showsin broken line a tube of one type gripped between end caps in which thelarger receptacle flange is inturned, whereas Fig. 10 shows the end capand cradle assembly wherein the smaller receptacle flangeis inturned,such reversal being necessitated by a variation in the cylindricaldiameter of the end projections of the respective tubes as shown inbroken line in Figs. 1 and 10. To permit disposal of the tube in nestedposition between the end caps 23 and 24, cap 23 (Figs. 1, 3 and 5) ispivotally carried on the top end of the back strip 43. The strap 15supporting cap 23 is swingable on an axis consisting of the pivot pin 11which passes through strap l5 and upper end of the flanges 44 of strip43, and is retained by a cotter pin it. When inserting the tube forshipment the top cap is lifted, the tube is disposed in verticalposition with its lower end resting in the bottom receptacle, and theThe caps are locked in tube gripping position bv;

aspecial locking lever now to be described, and shown in various aspectsin Figs. 1,- 3,63, 7 and 8. The locking lever heretofore designatedgenerally byreierence character 28 comprises three articulated links 80,51 and 82 respectively. Links 80 and 82 are pivoted at their inner endsto respective spaced pivots 83' and 84 on link 8L A- latchingclip 85 isa-flixed to the free end of link 8l beyond both pivots. The latchingclip has a base portion 86 welded in lapped arrangement to-link 81. Theclip further has a flange 8?! normalto base 86 and extending beyond theedge of link 8|, and an outwardly curved extension 8 8. overlyingextension 88 is a finger tab 89 extending inwardly at 9B slightly beyondflange 81 :and consequently overlying link 8!. This projecting portion90 serves as a detent member to hold link 80 in locked position as willappear. In-the position shown in Fig. 8 the locking lever has beenlengthened from thelocked position of Figs. 1, 3 and why extension ofthe toggle structure of thelever. This is accomplished, after release ofthe latching clip, by swinging link 8| in counter-clockwisefashionaround pivot 83, thereby releasing the hooked end 93 of link 82from alug 94 on cap .23- The bottom end of the lever is pivotally fixedat 95 to cap 24, link 8! having a slot 9-5 which receives the pivot 95and which facilitates manipulation of the lever.

To lock the lever the operation just described is reversed, the hook :93being first inserted in lug 94. The end of link 8| carrying clip 85 isthen swung clockwise around pivot 83 (Fig. 8). In engaging the latchingclip with link 80 the clip must first swing under and past link 80 untilsaid link 80 can snap inwardly under the detent projection 98 of theclip, such final position being shown in section in Fig. 6. V 1

jjIfink 80 carries a U-clip' 9! one leg of the U being welded in lappedposition to the link as shown for example in Fig. '7. The space betweenthe legs of the clip 9! is wide enough to accom-- modate all threelinkswhen in register in the positionshown in Fig. '7. When the lever isin locked position, for example as shownin Figs. 1.3 and 10, it isbraced against undesired yielding in one direction by clip 85 and in theopposite direction by clip 91. It will be evident that to achieve theposition of Fig. 8 the latching clip 85 must first be released ashereinbefore described.

To adjust the locking lever, link 80 is provided with means foradjusting its effective length to avoid the possibility of objectionableplay. Such means in the present embodiment consists of an adjustablescrew I03 threaded in an aperture extending from the end of slotoutwardly through the end of link 88. This screw adjusts link 88relative to pivot 95. The position of the screw is fixed by nut I04.

Referring to Fig. 1, a pair of spaced bolt apertures 98 may be seenextending through each of arms 45 and 41, slightly to the left of theposition of the back strip at. These are adapted to receive the bolts 99when it becomes desirable to move the arm assembly laterally from theposition shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 10. Such changeis made when changing tube types as hereinabove mentioned. It permitsthe tube insulators to be disposed in an opposite direction, thuspermitting the use of a narrower container than if the arms were fixedin an unchangeable position.

In Figs. 3 and there is shown a pair of resilient bumpers I08 carried ona cross piece l8! attached to the back strip by means of the double nutassembly Hi2, such nut. assembly being adapted to be raised or loweredto changethe height of the bumpers so as to make suitable contact withthe rear mounting plat-e01 any of the several types of tubes'disposed'the cradle;

The operation of the device will be obvious from a consideration of thestructure already described.- As-hereinbeiore indicated the particularembodiment disclosed is" adapted for the transportation of X-ray tubesoftwo general types. With slight modification, apparent to those skilledin the art from a consideration-of the present structure, thedevice canaccommodate tubes of other structural characteristics.

Having determined the type of tube which is tobe shipped, the resilientbumpers I00 and the endreceptacles Z5 and '26 are adjusted asheretofore: described, the tube is held. withits anode and down, itsbottom end portion is nested in the. lowerreceptacle, the rear mountingplate of the tube is pushed bac-kwardly against the bumper-3;. and thetop cap is swung downwardly to contact with the: top end of the tube.The locking lever.

is finally engaged and locked, the door is closed,

and the container is ready .for shipment.

What we claim is:

1., A tube-carrying cradle adapted to hold an X-ray tube, and to beresiliently suspended in--a-= shipping container, said cradle comprisingtube; supporting means, a pair of end caps attached; at spaced pointsonsaid tube supporting means,-v

X-ray tube, and to be resiliently suspended in a shipping container,said cradle comprising tube supporting means, a pair of end capsattached at spaced points on said tube supporting means, a cushionreceptacie'disposed in each end cap;

said receptaclesbeing adapted to receive r-espec tively opposedends ofsaid tube, and articulated lever means for maintaining said endcapsa,;in; tube-gripping position, each said receptacle hav-;, ing anested depression-in each of two] opposed:

faces, each said receptacle being likewise reversibly secured in itsrespective cap whereby to accommodate more than one type of tube end.

3. A tube-carrying cradle adapted to hold an X-ray tube, and to beresiliently suspended in a shipping container, said cradle comprisingtube supporting means, a pair of end caps attached at spaced points onsaid tube supporting means, a cushion receptacle disposed in each endcap, said receptacles being adapted to receive respectively opposed endsof said tube, and articulated lever means for maintaining said end capsin tube-gripping position, one of said end caps being pivotally attachedto said tube supporting means to permit insertion of the tube betweensaid caps and subsequent relative gripping movement between said caps.

4. A tube-carrying cradle adapted to hold an X-ray tube, and to beresiliently suspended in a shipping container, said cradle comprisingtube supporting means, a pair of end caps attached at spaced points onsaid tube supporting means, a cushion receptacle disposed in each endcap, said receptacles being adapted to receive respectively opposed endsof said tube, and articulated lever means for maintaining said end capsin tube-gripping position, said articulated lever means consisting ofthree links mutually pivotally connected in tandem, the two outer linkshaving their inner ends carried on spaced pivots on the intermediatelink, the eflective length of said lever being changeable by swingingmovement of said intermediate link on said pivots.

5. In a shipping container of the character described wherein an X-raytube is gripped between end-retaining members of cushion-like characterina cradle resiliently suspended in the container, articulated lockinglever means for holding said end -retaining members, said lever meansconsisting of three links mutually pivotally connected in tandem, thetwo outer links having their inner ends carried on spaced pivots on theintermediate link, the effective length of said lever being changeableby swinging movement of said intermediate link around said pivots, onesaid outer link being pivotally connected at its free end to one of saidend-retaining members, the other said outer link being releasablyattachable at its free end to the other of said end-retaining members.

6. A tube-carrying cradle adapted to hold an X-ray tube, and to beresiliently suspended in a shipping container, said cradle comprising abody, a pair of arms extending transversely in opposed directions ateach end of said body and adapted to be attached to resilient suspensionmeans, a pair of cushioned tube-supporting receptacles disposed oneadjacent each end of said body, and adapted to receive respectivelyopposed ends of said tube, lever locking means for maintaining saidreceptacles in tube-gripping position, and resilient bumper meansfixed'at an intermediate position on said body, and adapted to supportan intermediate portion of said tube.

'7. A tube-carrying cradle adapted to hold an X-ray tube, and to beresiliently suspended in a shipping container, said cradle comprising abody, a pair of arms extending transversely in opposed directions ateach end of said body and adapted to be attached to resilient suspensionmeans, a pair of cushioned tube-supporting receptacles disposed oneadjacent each end of said body, and adapted to receive respectivelyopposedends of saidtube, lever locking means for maintaining saidreceptacles in tube-gripping position, and resilient bumper means fixedat an intermediate 8 position on said body, and adapted to support anintermediate portion of said tube, each of said receptacles beingprovided with a plurality of tube end receiving nests of diiierentdiameters to accommodate difierent types of tube.

8. 'A shock-proof shipping container for transporting an X-ray tube,comprising an outer box,

a tube-carrying cradle within and spaced from said box, means on saidcradle for resiliently gripping the opposite ends of said tube to holdthe latter in vertical position, said cradle being substantially rigidwith said tube gripped therein, two

clusters of springs connected with said cradle at upper pointsrespectively on opposite sides of said tube, each of said clustersincluding two springs extending upwardly and respectively forwardly andrearwardly, each said cluster including a spring extending laterallyaway from said cradle, two clusters of springs connected with saidcradle at lower points respectively on opposite sides of said tube, eachof said last named clusters in-- cluding two springs extendingdownwardly and respectively forwardly and rearwardly, each of said lastnamed clusters including a spring extending laterally away from saidcradle, and all of saidsprings being secured to the walls of said box sothat all of said springs are held, in tension.

' EDWIN R. GOLDFIELD.

RALPH C. SCHIRING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Feb. 13, 1939

